Global Integrators--22

Faith-Based Foundations
Christian Worldview

 

The Swiss Alps--view from the French Jura Mountains

(November 2015)

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 We think that the time is coming for a diversity of colleagues to come together intentionally, visibly, and practically on behalf of global integration (GI). GI put simply is how we skillfully integrate our lives and values on behalf of the issues facing humanity. Likewise we think that the time is coming for colleagues to carefully reflect and act on what it means to be good global learners-practitioners--to seriously consider what it means to be what we are calling global integrators (GI-People).

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This entry identifies 10 core beliefs from a Christian worldview that are very relevant for our work as Global Integrators. These core beliefs are foundational for how we ourselves engage with the current efforts in the world community to help “transform our world” and “restore humanity.” It is still a work in progress and undoubtedly there will be additions and adjustments.

 We think that it is not necessary to downplay the central place of faith in our life and work.  Nor do we need to primarily refer to our spiritual commitments, motivations, and affiliations in generic (and safer?) terms like being “faith-based”—e.g., “I am and my organization is faith-based.” After all, there are about 6.5 billion humans that claim allegiance to some religion—by far the majority of humanity. So why not simply say, ‘I am a Muslim” or “I am a Hindu” or “I am a Christian” etc? That would make life a lot simpler. It’s also about respecting all people in all our diversity—acknowledging deeply our commitment to human dignity and worth and the common good.

So we want to just say who we are--and above all to just be who we are--as we work in global integration. That includes the central place of Jesus Christ in all that we do. For some related thoughts have a look through the previous entries on Global Integrators, Many of the core foundational beliefs below are mentioned or highlighted in the previous 20+ entries on Global Integrators, with the most important one being the Preeminent Pantocrator.

Foundations and Worldview

The Centrality of Jesus Christ

1.      God is both transcendent and personal—God is good and just; God loves people.

2.      God is involved in human affairs/history—there is a central, restorative purpose in history, although it is not always specifically clear to human understanding.

3.      Our world and people are wonderful, yet are seriously flawed and in desperate need of help.

4.      Evil exists—it is the perversion of the good, the most serious flaw. Evil is not simply synonymous with ignorance, mistakes, or misunderstandings.

5.      Personal restoration, including repentance from evil and reconnecting with God, is essential for personal transformation and world transformation.

6.   Human efforts at transformation are extremely important, yet fare better when there is acknowledgement of and dependence on God.

7.      The missio Dei--the vast, diverse, and central restorative purpose-action of God in the world-- is a relevant concept for understanding how God is at work in the world to bring transformation in many ways.

8.     People of faith (focus here on Christians, the church) can be informed by science, humanities, good practice, and especially the Scriptures as they work with others towards transformation within the missio Dei.

9.      People of faith and people of no faith, and everyone in-between, have a responsibility to love and serve others and to care for the planet.

10.  Jesus Christ is understood to be the Savior and Lord, the preeminent One, who sacrificially gave His life to restore all people to God, the One who ultimately will transform the world by making all things new. He is seen as the ultimate foundation for our efforts to make the world better, the foundation for life, faith, hope—for everything. “No one can establish a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. I Cor. 3:11